Saturday, 16 April 2011

Royal Wedding Beer - Hall & Woodhouse 1981

Moving through the brewing family tree I now open a bottle of the beer that Hall & Woodhouse brewed in 1981 to celebrate the wedding of Charles and Diana. Looking through the bottle I was certain that the beer was cloudy and stale.

Upon opening I was surprised to hear and see some condition in the beer and it poured with a small tight white head and was crystal clear. It was the glass of the bottle that had failed not the beer !

Although not quite the eureka moment of the King and Barnes effort, this beer was definitely still drinkable. The carbonation and gentle sweetness coming through to disguise any stale flavours leaving a pleasant nutty, bitter aftertaste.

The beer was served in a 275ml brown bottle with a crown cap and a foil neck label. The bottle was individually numbered and the label was marked "for royal toasts".

Hall & Woodhouse have also lasted the test of time. In 1981 they owned 158 pubs of which 100 served real ale. They now have 240 pubs all selling cask ale.

The brewery in Blandford Forum has only just lasted the last 30 years and it is now creaking a little under production pressures and red tape bureaucracy.

Unlike Young's who in a similar position decided to close the Wandsworth brewery and de-camp to Bedford, Hall & Woodhouse have taken the bold decision to build a new brewery on the existing site.

At a cost of £5 million, it is a decision to be applauded and shouted from the rooftops. Building and commissioning is under way and trial brews are expected in the autumn.

I, for one, look forward to visiting the new brewery and raising a glass of Badger beer to progress.

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About Me

Steve Williams is a beer drinker who wishes to share his love of beer with you. He was CAMRA's Regional Director for Greater London from 2004 to 2009. (The views expressed here are my own and may not necessarily be endorsed by the Campaign for Real Ale though)
Steve won the London Ale Taster competition in 2010
Always available for beer tastings, can lead London pub crawls, after dinner talks on beer, pubs or history, general consumer consultancy and judging beer competitions.